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Physiological psychology is generally related to psychiatry, and in fact may up becoming the parent branch which contains
psychiatry. This term is not universally accepted as being official jargon, but the concept behind it is rather clear and it does
unify several previously similar areas of research.
As background, psychiatrists are the only doctors of psychology who must have complete medical training (at least in the
United States). They are certified as are other medical doctors, and they are able to write prescriptions (subject to standard
DEA regulations and limitations). Psychiatrists tend to handle the psychological disorders that are perceived as being caused by
physical irregularities; as an example, bipolar disorder is caused by abnormal concentrations of neurotransmitters and is
therefore often treated with antidepressant medications that moderate the production or removal of neurotransmitters.
At the risk of being overly broad in defining it as such, physiological psychology refers to the study of how physical
conditions of the human body affect an individual's subjective experience. If a study were to be conducted to find out which
region of the brain is active when a person is exercising free will, then this would be on the shared border of cognitive and
physiological psychology. Investigating which chemicals are released in which location when a person feels "love" or "anger"
would also fall under the umbrella of physiological psychology. These three examples were chosen in part because such research
has already been done. Neurobiology and neurology also possess a portion of research and applied methods which could be
classified as physiological psychology.
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